Solar Lab
Discussion Questions: Which of the planets are the largest 2? The planets Jupiter and Saturn are the two largest planets in our solar system. Which planet is the closest in size to the Earth in terms of its Diameter? Venus is the planet closest in size to the Earth in terms of its diameter. It’s diameter of 12,104 km is very close to the Earth’s diameter of 12,756 km. How do the diameters of the inner planets compare to the diameters of the outer planets? The diameters of the inner planets are small compared to the outer planets. The largest diameter of any inner planet is the Earth’s, at 12,756 km. In comparison, the smallest diameter of any outer planet is Neptune’s, at 49,500 km. (This does not count Pluto) How does Pluto differ from the other outer planets? Pluto is different from the other outer planets in that it does not have a large diameter. It’s diameter of 2,300 km is small to Neptune’s diameter of 49,500 km; and is dwarfed by Jupiter’s diameter of 142,800 km. Also, its atmosphere is not primarily compromised by gas. Jupiter’s diameter is how many times greater than the Earth’s diameter? Jupiter’s diameter is 142,800 km. The Earth’s diameter is 12,756 km. This means that Jupiter’s diameter is 11.19 times larger than the Earth’s. (Jupiter’s Diameter/Earth’s Diameter = 142,800/12,756 = 11.19…) The Sun’s diameter is 1,394,000 km. Using the scale from procedure A (1 mm = 700 km) what would be the scale diameter for the circle representing the Sun. 1,394,000/x= 700/1 1,394,000=700x 1,394,000/700=x x= 1991.42 The scale diameter for the circle representing the sun would be 1991.42 mm Which 2 planets are closest to the Earth? The two planets closest to the Earth are Venus and Mars. As distance away from the Sun increases in our solar system, what happens to the orbital period of a celestial body? The farther away an object is from the Sun, the longer its period of revolution. Earth’s period of revolution is 365.26 days. Closer to the Sun, Mercury’s period of revolution is 88 days. Farther from the sun, Neptune’s period of revolution is 164.8 Earth years.   Briefly compare the relative sizes of the planets to the Sun. If the Earth’s Diameter is 1, the Sun’s Diameter would be 109 times larger. The Other planets would be… Planet/Star Name: Relative Size (Where Earth’s Diameter = 1): The Sun 109 Mercury 0.38 Venus .95 Earth 1 Mars .53 Jupiter 11.19 Saturn 9.4 Uranus 4.04 Neptune 3.88 Pluto (Dwarf Planet) 0.18 How do the distances between the Earth and the Sun compare to the distances between Earth and nearby stars and galaxies? How would we measure each? The distance between the Earth and the Sun is extremely small when compared to the distances between the Earth and nearby stars and galaxies. The distance between the Earth and the Sun is approximately 93,000,000 miles. The distance between the Earth and neighboring stars is measured in light years. One light year is equal to approximately 6 trillion miles. The closest star is Proxima Centauri, about 4.2 light years away. The closest galaxy is the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy (link at the end of the lab). It was discovered by astronomers in 2003 and is 25,000 light years from Earth. It was eaten by the Milky Way. Bonus: The “Large Magellanic Cloud”, a nearby galaxy, is 160,000 light years away (1.5 ×〖10〗^18 km) from the Earth. Using the scale from Procedure B, calculate how far away in meters the “Large Magellanic Cloud” is from Earth. 1 cm = 10,000,000 km 100 cm = 1 meter = 1,000,000,000 km 1.5 ×〖10〗^18 =1,500,000,000,000,000,000 1,500,000,000,000,000,000 ÷1,000,000,000 = 1,500,000,000 1,500,000,000 meters The Data Tables: Data Table 1: Planet: Equatorial Diameter (km) Scale Diameter (mm) Round to Tenths Scale Diameter (cm) Round to Tenths Radius (cm) Round to Tenths Mercury 4,880 7.0 0.7 0.4 Venus 12,104 17.3 1.7 0.9 Earth 12,756 18.2 1.8 0.9 Mars 6,787 9.7 1.0 0.5 Jupiter 142,800 204.0 20.4 10.2 Saturn 120,000 171.4 17.1 8.6 Uranus 51,800 74.0 7.4 3.7 Neptune 49,500 70.7 7.1 3.6 Pluto 2,300 3.3 0.3 0.2 Data Table 2: Planet: Mean Distance From the Sun (km) Scale Distance (cm) Round to the Hundredths Scale Distance (Meters) Round to Hundredths Mercury 57,900,000 5.79 0.06 Venus 108,200,000 10.82 0.11 Earth 149,600,000 14.96 0.15 Mars 227,900,000 22.79 0.23 Jupiter 778,300,000 77.83 0.78 Saturn 1,427,000,000 142.70 1.43 Uranus 2,869,000,000 286.90 2.87 Neptune 4,496,000,000 449.60 4.50 Pluto 5,900,000,000 590.00 5.90 Link = http://www.universetoday.com/guide-to-space/milky-way/the-closest-galaxy-to-the-milky-way/